All seven schools presented in this guide are making significant inroads toward closing the achievement
gaps in their respective school communities. As a group, they have created learning environments where
historically underserved children are thriving. As a group, these successful charter schools operate in
different geographic locations, serve a range of student populations, and offer different approaches to
curriculum and instruction. Yet, there are significant commonalities among the schools. How is it that
when faced with many of the same challenges, these fledgling charter schools are succeeding in closing
achievement gaps where many of their traditional public school counterparts have not? Among other
strengths, each of these charter schools is driven, as one school leader puts it, to do "whatever it takes" to
ensure student achievement. Each has committed itself to the hard work of teaching student by student.

Working with many children who enter school performing far below grade level and who are
from neighborhoods and families with scant resources, these schools are not settling for anything
less than the best for their students. School leaders at Amistad Academy in New Haven, Conn., seek
to "change the life options of kids so they can succeed in college and life," says Doug McCurry,
superintendent of the New Haven-based nonprofit Achievement First, which was formed to
replicate the Amistad model in other schools. "It’s not about raising [scores] from the 20th percentile
to the 35th. That’s still poor. We want dramatic gains in academics and character."

Across the board, these charter schools are managing to bring student test scores up to and
beyond the numbers earned by more affluent students. A few examples include:

Alain Locke Charter Academy (Alain Locke), in Chicago, saw 72 percent of its students
meet state standards in mathematics, reading, and science in 2005, compared with 31 percent
of students in neighboring schools and 69 percent statewide. Due to its students’
58-point gain from 2002 to 2005 in mathematics, reading comprehension, and science
scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), Alain Locke earned the title of
most-improved school in the Chicago Public School System. Students at Alain Locke
outperform the state average in almost
every measure: Ninety-four percent of third-graders met or exceeded state mathematics
standards in school year 2004–05, compared with 56 percent of the same-age students in
the local district and 79 percent of Illinois third-graders overall.

Amigos Por Vida—Friends for Life Public Charter School (APV), in Houston, serves
a larger percentage of new immigrant students and English language learner (ELL)
students than other Houston public and charter schools. Yet, 99 percent of its thirdgraders
met state mathematics standards on Texas standardized tests in 2005, compared
with a range of 52 percent to 65 percent of third-graders at other local elementary
schools and 88 percent for students statewide. On state reading and language arts
tests in 2004–05, the school’s third-graders outperformed their peers at all local elementary
schools but one.

• Amistad Academy’s eighth-graders outperformed their neighborhood peers on tests administered
in the 2005–06 school year, with 68 percent meeting reading standards compared
to only 35 percent of eighth-graders in other New Haven public schools. On mathematics
tests, 60 percent of Amistad eighth-graders met standards, compared with 28 percent
of their public school peers districtwide.

Cesar Chavez Academy (CCA), in Pueblo, Colo., not only consistently outperforms other
district and state schools that serve student populations with similar demographics, its
students’ performance significantly exceed the state averages for all schools. On state
tests in 2005–06, CCA third-graders scored proficiency levels of 94 percent in reading,
96 percent in writing, and 100 percent in mathematics.
Also, that year, CCA fourth- graders scored 88 percent proficient on
reading, 86 percent on writing, and 94 percent on mathematics tests, compared to
fourth-grade scores statewide of 68 percent
for reading, 50 percent for writing, and 69 percent for mathematics.

Carl C. Icahn Charter School (Icahn Charter School), in the Bronx, was recognized in
2006 by the New York Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department as
a high-performing and gap-closing school. This recognition came after Icahn Charter
School students met all state language arts and mathematics
standards during the 2004–05 school year, and the school met AYP in
language arts, mathematics, and science in both 2002–03 and 2003–04 school years.
In 2005–06, Icahn Charter School’s third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders outperformed all
other New York charter schools in English and language arts. Also that year, a full 100
percent of Icahn Charter School third- and fourth-graders scored proficient and above
on state mathematics assessments, compared with 60.8 percent of third-grade students and
52.3 percent of fourth-graders in the district.

The Intergenerational School (TIS), in Cleveland, had 100 percent of its third-graders
score proficient or higher on state reading and mathematics
assessments in 2005–06, compared to 50.7 percent of Cleveland Municipal
School District third-graders in reading and 43.4 percent in mathematics. The Ohio Department
of Education gave TIS a rating of excellent, while Cleveland Municipal was on
academic watch. Also in 2005–06, TIS met AYP, while the district as a whole did not.

Pan-American Elementary Charter School (PAES), in Phoenix, outperformed schools in
its own district, both traditional public elementary and other charter schools, on Arizona’s
state mathematics, reading, and writing tests in 2004–05, with higher percentages of students
in grades 3 and 5 scoring proficient or above.

But scores do not tell the whole story. Behind
these encouraging numbers are children whose lives change dramatically through the day-today
work of learning in a positive and effective environment. Principals and teachers interviewed
for this guide shared stories of students demonstrating major shifts in attitude and behavior,
growing from low-achievers into strong students who consider it "cool" to earn good
grades. Other school leaders described struggling students who want to learn and who,
through determination and effort, become successful learners and high achievers.

One such student, at CCA, made remarkable strides after struggling in traditional schools.
The year the school opened, this fourth-grader, Patricia (a pseudonym),
walked into the unfinished building and asked the principal what he was doing. When
he answered that he was building a school, she asked, "Can I come?" When he explained that she
needed to apply, she froze. Patricia’s father had abandoned the family, her mother was in prison,
and the girl herself had been diagnosed as having severely limited intellectual capacity, with an IQ of
around 60. She was unable to read and lived with an uneducated grandmother, who subsequently
signed Patricia’s application for CCA. Walking through the tough neighborhood in which CCA
is located, Patricia came to school every day and received intensive academic, developmental, and
behavioral interventions. "We taught her a lot of skills," recalls principal and cofounder, Lawrence
Hernandez. Patricia is now an accomplished tenth-grader who maintains a 4.0 average.

Another child entered the third grade at Icahn Charter School unable to decode or read, in
spite of high scores at his previous school. With hard work and support from the school, the
boy showed major progress on state tests. "He
worked his head off and he did great," says Icahn Charter School principal Jeffrey Litt. "I called his
mother to tell her his results. She was screaming and crying into the phone, ‘Mr. Litt, I love you,’
and I told her, ‘No, love him. He worked hard.’ "

Common Factors Among All Schools

What is going on behind the scenes to explain such successes? One common strategy is that
school leaders concern themselves with more than test scores. Teachers care that students are
mastering concepts and skills, learning to think critically, solving problems, understanding what
they read, and writing coherently. The seven themes highlighted below show some of the
practices common to these schools that contribute to their strengths and successes.

Mission-driven

Each of these schools has a clear focus and mission. Most emerged because motivated parents
and educators were dissatisfied with the quality and safety of existing public schools
in underserved communities. Aiming to close gaps in achievement between urban and suburban
students in Connecticut, graduates of Yale University Law School founded Amistad Academy
in 1999. Similarly, TIS founder Catherine Whitehouse was appalled by the poor teaching
she witnessed in Cleveland’s public school classrooms. She hoped to "create something
different" by opening a charter school that fosters lifelong learning and where both older and
younger generations can connect (e.g., seniors serve as reading buddies, tutors, or mentors for
students). In one case, a charter school opened where there had been no local school; prior to
the opening of APV, local students had been bused out of their neighborhood.

Everyone involved with a new charter school goes out on a limb at first to get the new school
off the ground. Some are fortunate enough to have a benefactor. Icahn Charter School opened
in 2001 with the financial backing of billionaire Carl C. Icahn, whose Foundation for a Greater
Opportunity finances the improvement of education in New York City. As the school’s sponsor,
the foundation provides it with ongoing support.

But most charter school founders face big challenges. Although Phoenix’s PAES now serves
270 students in kindergarten through seventh grade and will add eighth grade next year, the
school got off to a bumpy start. Delayed building inspections pushed the opening day off by
more than a month. With 200 students enrolled and ready to start school in early August, doors
did not open until mid-September. "Many of our parents just waited and waited, but [others]
got nervous that [we] weren’t opening the doors. … So they pulled out," recalls principal
Marta Pasos, who had to lay off some teachers when enrollment dropped. Other teachers took
a pay cut and administrators were not paid for three months. Pasos and her husband gambled
their own personal security and took out loans to cover costs. To keep overhead low, they
also wore, and continue wearing, many hats, doing their own busing, payroll, maintenance,
and business management. Remarkably, by the middle of the school’s second year, Pan-American
was debt-free, making it possible for the school to purchase its building.

Icahn Charter School’s Litt ran into great skepticism when he first considered using the Core
Knowledge curriculum, developed by professor and author E. D. Hirsch to expose children
to key concepts of western civilization in mathematics, language, history, science, music, art,
and more. When Litt visited a suburban Florida school already using the curriculum and told
its staff that he wanted to use it for inner-city South Bronx students, he was met by doubtful
educators who argued that the curriculum would not be effective for the population he
described. Undaunted, Litt moved forward, adapting the curriculum for his students, who
have since proved that his confidence was well placed. They continue to demonstrate that lowincome,
minority students can and do master this curriculum.

The leaders at these schools are nothing if not committed. (Four of the schools are run by their
founders.) Collectively, they pride themselves on accepting responsibility for their students’
success. This commitment often is explicitly articulated, as in the mission statement from Pan-
American (see fig. 1 on p. 13). As this statement makes clear, school leaders strive to build a
strong connection between school and home, and between the school’s approaches and the
cultural values and traditions of the community. The mission statement also is translated
into Spanish, the home language for most Pan-American students. CCA leaders also fuse their
school culture with their community’s values and work to foster them. CCA’s mission—"to
prepare a diverse cross-section of Pueblo’s children for success as young scholars, citizens of
the world, and community leaders"—embraces Latino culture through language, the arts, and
history. Even the school’s board of directors has become an emissary of this dedication, with
board members picking up students who have difficulty getting to school on time. Principal
Hernandez says the school is committed to giving "poor people the power to change their
community. We’re family," he says. "We’re all here for the kids."

In each school, the mission is almost tangible, evident in multiple ways, from displays of student
work in hallways and classrooms to the positive way students and teachers interact.
At TIS, a class of students readily recited the school mission by heart and in unison for a visiting
researcher:

The Intergenerational School fosters an educational community of excellence that
provides experiences and skills for lifelong learning and spirited citizenship for learners of all ages.

TIS students recognize that their school is a special
community for learning. As evident in figure 2, the Intergenerational
School’s Core Values, such elements as personal integrity, work ethic, interpersonal skills, shared
and responsible use of resources, and celebration of diversity shape school values, goals, and
objectives. The school’s mantra—"learning is a lifelong development process"—is the foundation
of its mission.

Each of these schools sets high expectations for its students, makes expectations clear, and
provides the necessary support and "scaffolding" for students to be successful. From school
to school, the aim is the same: to improve the future prospects for children from low-income
and minority backgrounds and, in effect, to level the playing field so that every child has
access to an excellent public education.

Figure 1. Pan-American Elementary Charter School: Mission Statement

Pan-American Elementary Charter School Mission Statement

The Pan-American Elementary mission is to ignite in every child the wonder of learning and to provide meaningful educational experiences in a safe and caring environment.

Pan-American is committed to realizing its mission by providing

Strong standards-based academics

Accelerated instruction based on the students' own capacity and pace

An enriched curriculum through exposure to a foreign language (English/Spanish)

Honoring Interconnected Web of Life and Time
Participates well in intergenerational activities
Interacts respectfully with adult visitors and volunteers

Interpersonal Skills
Shares and takes turnsListens when others are talking
Interacts well with peersInteracts well with adults
Solves conflicts effectively

Shared and Responsible Use of ResourcesTakes care of school materials
Returns books and materials to school on timeCleans up after using materials

Celebration of DiversityValues opinions of others
Shows interest in learning about other cultures
Responds positively to culturally-diverse literature

Positive School Culture

For each of these charter schools, creating a positive, safe school culture, so that everyone
can focus on learning, has been critical to success. A safe environment is taken seriously,
in part because it is one of the main reasons parents have enrolled their children. Many
of these campuses are located in dangerous urban neighborhoods marked by gang and
drug activity. Icahn Charter School, which is located in the South Bronx, uses a security officer,
video monitors, and metal fences to keep students safe. But safety also is stressed on a
personal level. When a child falls down on the playground at recess, teachers are required to
wash the scrape with soap and water, put on a band-aid, and call home. This way, parents
are kept informed. These schools are intentional about creating a positive culture and
about maintaining open communication with the families they serve.

Part of this approach involves offering students incentives, such as leadership roles in the student-
led recycling program at TIS and "scholar dollar paychecks," a positive incentive program
at Amistad Academy, where students earn and accumulate points toward special activities for
positive efforts and progress in attendance, homework, and behavior. At APV, students join
in a mathematics competition to win prizes, such as bicycles. Classes there are also named
after universities, and students learn to sing college anthems and compete in such monthly
events as designing the best college banner.

There is a pervasive sense in these schools that it is "cool to be smart." After-school programs
extend student learning. For example, Alain Locke takes students on trips to college campuses.
These charter schools promote respect and value culturally relevant practices so that
students feel connected to their community and culture. These are schools where staff and students
want to be, where the energy is positive, and where hard work is rewarded.

These schools recognize that acknowledging student achievements—either through individual
rewards or whole-school meetings—fosters a positive attitude and a strong sense of
community. The simple act of coming together as a community, learning how to respectfully
listen, and being an appreciative audience is not taken for granted. It is a skill that teachers
and school leaders teach intentionally, to provide students with step-by-step guidance
to meet not only academic, but also social and behavioral standards.
The first assembly of the year, explains TIS principal Whitehouse, was
cancelled because students were unable to sit still and listen. Whitehouse sent students back
to their classrooms, and for two weeks they practiced the skills of being a polite, attentive
audience. "Now when we have community meetings, the kids walk in, sit down, and wait
quietly for the meeting," Whitehouse says. "The children have learned to line up quietly to walk
through the hallways and to pay attention when adults ask them to listen to the presentations."

Expectations are very clear. At Amistad Academy, they are presented transparently as "REACH"
values: respect, enthusiasm, achievement, citizenship, and hard work. Respect includes respecting
teachers, being nice to teammates, having patience in class, keeping desk, classroom,
bathrooms, and school clean; enthusiasm means following directions the first time, focusing, and
bringing a positive attitude; achievement includes doing one’s personal best on all assignments
and showing improvement on grades and test scores; citizenship includes taking responsibility
for one’s actions, being honest, and helping others; and hard work means coming to class
prepared, in full uniform and with necessary materials. Students are evaluated against these
standards by their teachers, who grant REACH awards each month, which consist of certificates
presented weekly at an all-school ceremony.

There are fewer discipline problems in these charter schools than at nearby traditional public
schools. When a student has a bad day and offtask behavior occurs, students are given clear
warnings and incentives to help them understand what is expected. A baseball diamondshaped
diagram in classrooms at TIS illustrates how the approach works at this school. Students
earn strikes and fouls for infractions in class, with the final consequence being a referral
to the principal. (Fig. 3 shows the referral form used for students who have
acquired three strikes.) Conversely, students can earn runs around the bases, with a reward
once they reach home base. The most coveted prize? Lunch with the teacher. CCA uses
what staff refer to as a "see three before me" approach to discipline, in which, before being
sent to the principal, a student receives counseling, guidance, and redirection by three staff
members, including a prevention specialist and a psychologist. When a student does receive
a referral, for either behavior or academic issues, the team works closely with the student
and his or her family, integrating the student’s home and school life into the problem-solving
process. (See fig. 4 for a flow chart illustrating the school’s discipline process.)

The working assumption across all these schools is that students can meet clear and high expectations.
Rather than blaming underperforming students for gaps in their knowledge and skills,
these teachers take seriously their responsibility for helping students catch up and meet high expectations.
They know how to work with and motivate students who enter performing below
grade level, and they are prepared to provide acceleration or remediation as needed. Tutoring
is available both before and after school, as are after-school enrichment classes and field
trips. Some of these schools also provide health
services to students and their families, including eyeglasses, flu shots, and nutrition guidance.

Figure 3. The Intergenerational School’s Form for Referral to Principal for Student Misconduct

Name:______________ Today's Date: _____________

Dear Principal,
In our classroom we have four rules:

Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself.

One person speaks at a time. Raise your hand and wait to be called before speaking.

Be where you are supposed to be unless you have permission from the teacher to move.

Respect yourself and others.
a. Use a pleasant voice with teachers and classmates. Only say nice things to others, or say nothing at all.
b. We do not throw anything.
c. We listen and follow instructions the first time.
d. We do not make extra noise (drumming, whistling, banging, humming, Velcro shoes, etc.) when we are learning.

The first rule I broke was rule:
1 2 3 4a 4b 4c 4d

The second rule I broke was rule:
1 2 3 4a 4b 4c 4d

I know that I have only one more chance before I have to be sent home.

Teaching for Mastery

Responsiveness to student needs is reflected in teaching approaches as well. While teachers in
traditional public schools might complain that their work is too prescribed and that there is
too much emphasis on the end goal of raising test scores, teachers see themselves teaching
for mastery, rather than teaching to the test. Teachers work long hours, spending extra time
with students who need the help. "I’m here on a Saturday because I just want the kids to do
well," a teacher at Icahn Charter School explains. "I’m teaching beyond the test and I’m
also teaching toward it, so students know that they will be well prepared. You’ve got to teach
them for the future."

Rather than aiming low or going easy on underserved students, these teachers strive to
help students acquire deep understanding of the content. This often requires students to
spend more time at school than is typical, and many of these profiled charter schools have a
longer school day and year. Some also work with three- and four-year-olds to help prepare
them for kindergarten. PAES offers an accelerated, full-day kindergarten program to ensure
that all students are reading by first grade.
Icahn Charter School has a mandatory Saturday school program for students who have scored
below proficiency on state tests. Alain Locke recently implemented a year-round schedule,
with 10 weeks of instruction followed by a three-week intersession break. In a community
with few constructive summer opportunities available anyway, school leaders believed that
this year-round schedule would help students maintain learning momentum.

These charter schools have greater freedom than traditional public schools in many ways. They
can choose their own textbooks, rather than pick from a district-approved list, and they can
make decisions about how much time teachers will spend on specific subjects, rather than follow
state-mandated "instructional minutes." They also have autonomy to decide what curriculum and
instructional strategies they will use. Instruction is still geared toward teaching to state standards,
since charter students take standardized tests; but teachers in charter schools can approach material
in innovative ways, for example, using an individualized, project-based curriculum.

To monitor how well their approaches are working, these schools use interim assessments to
gauge student progress and discover which students need support, acceleration, or remediation,
and which subjects must be retaught. Assessments used include Accelerated Reader comprehension
tests, Success for All reading exams, teacher- and adminstrator-developed assessment
tools to monitor student reading progress on a regular basis, and other methods. (See fig. 5 for a chart that shows how TIS staff map the use of specific assessments to monitor
student progress in reading.) Several of the highlighted schools have developed sophisticated
systems to analyze student progress on specific standards. The resulting data then are used by
teachers and administrators to help them understand and adapt instruction to meet students’
learning needs. At Amistad Academy, Icahn Charter School, TIS, and CCA, teachers and administrators
interpret interim assessments standard by standard to monitor student progress.

Figure 5. The Intergenerational School Reading Assessment Plan
The Intergenerational School

Reading Curriculum: Rationale, Instruction and Resources
The following chart summarizes the reading assessments and standards:

* An advanced student may complete the objectives of the Refining Stage while still at a 3rd grade equivalent level and would not have had the opportunity to take the Ohio 4th Grade Achievement Test. This criterion may also be met by scoring at the Accelerated level on the 3rd Grade Achievement Test.

Some schools even have modified report cards to show parents precisely which standards are
challenging their child. For example, at TIS, each developmental stage has a separate report card
that includes a detailed list of the specific learning objectives for that stage. For reading, writing,
and mathematics standards, students must pass 90 percent of the learning objectives or demonstrate
proficiency on state assessments in those subjects before they can move on to the next
developmental level.

Principals at some of these highlighted schools report that they have received complaints from
parents who want to know why their children had received higher grades at their previous
school. The answer, parents are told, is that more is expected of their children at their new
schools. In fact, these schools have learned the importance of making sure that parents understand
with some specificity what is expected of their children at school. A steady flow of information,
in the families’ home languages, can help parents understand what their children are
studying and why they may be receiving lower marks. At CCA, for example, parents receive a
monthly syllabus detailing topics and themes to be taught each month, homework assignments
and due dates, and a schedule of upcoming quizzes and tests (see fig. 6).

Collectively, these seven schools set high expectations for every student and follow through
when it comes time for grade promotion. In order to prepare students for college, staff at Alain
Locke assign reading and homework every night and require parents to sign off on completed assignments
(see fig. 7 for an example of the assignment sheet for first grade). Icahn
Charter School requires a 90 percent attendance
rate, satisfactory growth, and a score of average or above on state tests in order for a student to
move up to the next grade. To graduate from eighth grade, CCA students must demonstrate
what the school refers to as their scholarly capacities through a series of presentations—including
a portfolio and a thesis project.

Families as Partners

These schools emphasize a shared sense of responsibility and communication between
families and school staff. Principals try to be as approachable
as possible, and many schools hold mandatory parent-teacher conferences. TIS holds
these conferences in the evenings and on weekends so working parents can attend, and it has a
100 percent parent participation rate. Seeking parent input, many of the schools send out surveys.
Icahn Charter School sends out a survey that is written in both English and Spanish. In
2006, the school sent out 245 surveys. All were returned, with 96 percent of parents rating the
school good or excellent. (See fig. 8 on page 23 for an excerpt from the survey.)

Parents also are encouraged to be involved in their children’s education. At all seven of the
schools, parents are asked to sign reading and homework logs daily, listen to their children
read every night, and help the school by organizing community potlucks, chaperoning field
trips, and serving food at special events.

In some instances this high expectation for involvement is formalized. At Alain Locke, parents,
students, and staff all sign a contract that within the school community is commonly referred to
as "a commitment to excellence." Parents, for example, commit to holding
high expectations
for students and staff, helping their children with
daily homework, ensuring their children’s regular attendance, and maintaining communication
with staff as part of their role in promoting "absolute excellence." At Amistad Academy, parents,
student, and teacher all sign the same contract, which notes that if the school is to achieve its
"very ambitious goals, we must work together." It then lists specific responsibilities for the teacher,
the parents, and the student (see fig. 9). The parents at these charter schools
tend to follow through on such promises. One Icahn Charter School parent, for example, takes
two buses to bring her child to the school. And the commitment goes both ways. At several of
the schools, staff members enroll their own children.
At CCA, 80 of the students (i.e., 7 percent of total enrollment) are children of school staff.

All of this effort of reaching out to families is paying off. According to the Evaluation of the Public
Charter Schools Program: Final Report in 2004, charter schools are more likely than traditional
public schools to have high levels of parental involvement in the areas of budget decisions, governance,
instructional issues, parent education workshops, and volunteering.14
At Alain Locke, a parent of two children enrolled in the school was hired as the parent-community liaison and
also serves as the enrichment coordinator. She knows every family, ensures smooth end-of-day
release of students to the persons authorized to pick them up, organizes parents to conduct
fund-raisers for enrichment programs, and also coordinated efforts to build a playground. At
APV, a school located in the middle of a mixed income housing complex, parents have helped
paint, repair, remodel, and landscape the school, creating beautiful grounds for the students.

1. Read a book to an adult. (Students may borrow a book from school or can also use a book that they have at home. They will also do an Accelerated Reading Quiz on the book at school).
2. Complete a book report on the book read.

Reminder(s):
1. Sight words and Spelling test will be on Friday, November 10, 2006. See words below and please note that both tests are written tests.

Sight words:

come

your

family

children

father

mother

people

picture

love

Spelling words:

on

not

got

box

hot

top

3. The memory piece, "I Am A Great Somebody" is due Friday, November 10, 2006. Please help your child practice.

Carl C. Icahn Charter School is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute and is a result of the collaborative efforts of the Foundation for A Greater Opportunity and the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association. Carl C. Icahn Charter School is a public school open to all children on a space available basis, by lottery.

For many of these families, their children’s education already is opening up new possibilities.
When 15 students at the PAES were selected to participate in a Saturday enrichment experience,
Programs for Talented Youth at Arizona State University (ASU), parents needed to take them to
the campus each Saturday. For many of the parents, it was their first time on a college campus.
Several called home to their families in Mexico, proud and excited to report that their child was
attending a program at ASU in Phoenix. For many of them, it was the first time they visualized college
as part of their children’s future.

Beyond educating their students, these schools bring another important value to their communities:
adult education opportunities. PAES offers a "parent university" in January each year. During
these sessions, parents learn how to help their children with mathematics and letter sounds and
how to research high school options. Throughout the year, PAES reinforces parent education
through one-on-one conferences to provide guidance on ways to support their children’s academic
progress. In partnership with the Family Resource and Learning Center, a complementary
program that is located within the school but has its own staff, Alain Locke provides classes for
parents. One parent who took a General Educational Development (GED) preparation class at
Alain Locke, earned her GED diploma—sometimes called an equivalency certificate—and is
now a clerk at the school.

Innovating Across the Program

Even armed with a clear mission and dedicated families, these schools still could go only so far
toward achieving their goals were it not for their charters. As charter-governed institutions,
these
schools have the autonomy to make creative scheduling, curriculum, and instruction decisions.
The flexibility to customize their programs to fit the needs of their particular communities
is enabling these schools to deliver on their promises.

Figure 9. Amistad Academy School-Student-Parent Contract

AMISTAD ACADEMY
School-Student-Parent Contract

Amistad Academy commits to a partnership between parents, students, and school staff to provide the best possible education for our students. In order to achieve our very ambitious goals, we must work together.

Teacher's Commitment

High Quality Education - We commit to providing a high-quality education and to going the extra mile for our students. We will work longer school hours, teach during the summer, and always offer our students the best we have.

Support and Respect - We will appreciate, support, and respect every student.

Communication - We will communicate regularly with parents about their child's progress and make ourselves available in person and by phone. We will return parent phone calls within 24 hours.

Homework - We will assign productive, worthwhile homework every night to reinforce and support skills and concepts learned in class.

Fairness - We will enforce Amistad's REACH values consistently and fairly. When students are disciplined or suspended, or when students deserve recognition for their accomplishments, we will inform their parents promptly.

Safety - We will always protect the safety, interests, and rights of all individuals.

Signed:_____________________________________

Date: __________________________

Parent's/Guardian's Commitment

Timeliness/Attendance - I understand that every school day is important and that it is my responsibility to get my child to school every day on time (7:30 A.M.). If my child needs to miss school, I will contact the school. I will also make sure my child attends Summer Academy, and I will never schedule family vacation during school time.

Support & Homework - I will always help my child in the best way I know how, and I will do whatever it takes for my child to learn. I will provide a quiet space for my child to study, and if necessary, I will check my child's homework every night. If my child struggles with homework and is required to attend after-school Homework Club, I will arrange for transportation home at 6:00 P.M.

Independent Reading - I will insist that my child reads for at least 20 minutes a night (including all three days of the weekend), and I will never sign the reading log unless I have personally seen my child read.

Communication - I will make myself available to my child and all of his/her teachers. I will return phone calls from school staff within 24 hours. If I am asked to attend a meeting regarding my child's education or behavior, I will be there.

Uniform - I will send my child to school every day in the Amistad uniform.

REACH and School Rules - I will make sure that my child learns to live up to Amistad's REACH values and high standards of behavior. I, not the school, am responsible for the behavior and actions of my child. I know that my child may lose privileges or have other disciplinary consequences if he/she violates the REACH values.

Attendance at Parent Meetings - I will attend all required parent meetings, including Back-to-School Night, two Report Card Nights, and "Biggest Job" seminars during the year. I will also complete all the homework I am assigned.

Signed:_____________________________________

Date: __________________________

Student's Commitment

My Best Effort - I understand that my education is important, and I will always work, think, and behave in the best way I know how and do whatever it takes for me and my fellow students to learn.

Attendance and Timeliness - I will come to school every day on time (by 7:30 A.M.) and stay until 5:00 P.M. (or later if I have Homework Club or other responsibilities). If I need to miss class, I will ask for and make up all missed assignments.

Uniform - I will wear my Amistad uniform properly every day and follow the school dress code.

Homework - I will complete all of my homework and reading every night. I will not offer excuses; I will seek the help I need to complete all my homework in a top-quality manner.

Communication - I will raise my hand to ask for help if I do not understand something. I will make myself available to my teachers and parents about any concerns they might have.

Responsibility - If I make a mistake, I will tell the truth and accept responsibility for my actions.

REACH - I understand the REACH values, and I will live up to them every day. I will follow all school rules so as to protect the safety, interests, and rights of all individuals. I understand that I may lose privileges and have other disciplinary consequences if I break rules or do not live up to the REACH values.

Signed:_____________________________________

Date: __________________________

Because student populations vary, no one of these schools is exactly like another.

APV has a dual-language model, by which all students—both native Spanish speakers and
native English speakers—receive instruction from two teachers each day, one teaching in
Spanish, the other in English. For example, students might read Charlotte’s Web in Spanish
in the morning and then write essays about the novel in English in the afternoon.
Therefore, all students are receiving instruction in two languages as opposed to a pullout
model where only some students receive Spanish instruction.

Amistad Academy places the strongest teachers with the students who are struggling the most—
an atypical arrangement in public schools.

At CCA, teachers form teams, creating a community of colleagues to support students
struggling with academics, behavior, or both.

At TIS, teachers are eschewing direct instruction in which teachers drive the pacing and
classroom activity. Instead, they facilitate an individualized, student-directed learning
process, in which students have more to say about what projects they work on and how
long they work on them.

Some of these schools offer unusual grade configurations to serve their communities’
needs. CCA, which started with 248 students in grades K–3, now has 786 children in grades
K–7, and, in addition, an eighth grade in the 2007–08 school year. Amistad Academy had
been providing grades 5–8, but added kindergarten and ninth grade for the 2006–07 school
year with the intent of expanding to a full K–12 program. Alain Locke serves prekindergarten
through eighth grade, a range not typically offered by traditional public school districts.

Each school is intentional about its teaching approaches, but CCA, APV, TIS, and PAES
all cite the research-based instructional practices they are explicitly implementing to support
reading skills.

Principals of these seven schools have discovered that innovation may lead to better achievement
outcomes, but not by itself. The standards these schools have set require top-notch instruction
by high-quality teachers. Because low-income communities typically struggle to retain
top-grade teachers,15 many of these schools work diligently to recruit new as well as retain existing
teachers. At PAES and TIS, a number of current teachers started out at their schools as student
teachers and found the environment welcoming and supportive enough to want to teach there
once licensed. At Icahn Charter School, a teacher who began teaching history and geography as
electives was encouraged to go back to school to become certified as a core teacher. He now
teaches fourth grade at the school. CCA actually has its own teacher development program that
trains both mid-career professionals and young adults from the community. Through this alternative
licensing program, accredited by the state of Colorado, the school has been able to add
to its teaching staff a former physicist, a former chemist, and a former stockbroker. Through
the program, says principal Hernandez, novices "learn to become great teachers."

Holding Themselves Accountable

Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are authorized for a specific number of
years—typically five to 10 years at a time—and authorizers can shut a school down or decide
not to renew a charter if the school does not perform adequately. As a result, these schools
take accountability very seriously. For starters, each has a governing board to support and
guide the school.

The governing board holds staff accountable for results and has the ability to fire the director
or teachers if they fail to advance the school mission. Boards can make decisions quickly,
which, as TIS principal Whitehouse explains, "allows them to be nimble." When the school
decided to expand from a school of 100 to a school of 200 over a five-year period, she recalls,
the board wanted to be sure the school stayed true to its mission and could make
the changes needed to handle more students. "There’s no big bureaucracy to work your way
through," Whitehouse says, "so you can make decisions that are in the best interest of children
pretty quickly."

Governing boards oversee policymaking and help develop school goals. Board members may
represent business, education and community groups, and may be parents or, even, teachers,
who cannot serve on traditional public school boards due to union constraints. Board members
help to attract partnerships, raise money for their schools, and secure buildings and facilities.
Further, the board oversees the fiscal health, management, and leadership of these
schools, performing some functions of a streamlined school district administration. Boards at
profiled schools average nine members, with one board having as few as five members and
another as many as 19.

Because many charter schools receive less public funding than traditional public schools, one
of the most important functions of a governing board is fund-raising. Charter schools operate
under tremendous financial vulnerability. TIS, for example, does not receive any of the local tax
funds that account for 47 percent of funding for other public schools in its district. In addition, unlike
traditional public schools, charter-governed schools must cover their own facilities and transportation
costs. District and state funding also are calculated in a manner that puts new charter
schools at a disadvantage. Often a year’s allocation is based on the school’s attendance levels
from the previous year. For a school that has recently added two or more grades to its program,
using last year’s attendance numbers and budget will fall far short of providing what it needs.

To compensate for unpredictable cash flow, some charter schools form nonprofit 501c(3)
organizations or operate under the umbrella of one, enabling them to receive grants from
foundations, individuals, and other organizations. Charter school leaders sometimes find
themselves in the position of having to sell the charter concept, either to political leaders or
benefactors, to gain access to revenue streams. Board members at Amistad Academy had some
success persuading the state legislature to increase funding for Connecticut charter schools,
and the school was granted $25 million in facility bond money to renovate a building and
expand its program to grades K–12.

Continuous Professional Learning and Improvement

Standards are high for students and teachers alike at these schools. Teachers are held
accountable for meeting ambitious missions and goals, but at the same time they receive ongoing
professional development and support.

At Alain Locke, teacher collaboration time is built into the year-round schedule with a
block of time reserved each week for professional development.

At APV, during a weekly two-hour professional development period, prekindergarten staff
participate in a team project meeting to plan lessons and share instructional strategies. The
school’s reading specialist and mathematics coordinator observe classes, provide feedback,
model lessons for each teacher, and provide training. Teachers also are given time
every day for planning and have opportunities to work on curriculum and instruction with
both a reading specialist and a mathematics specialist.

Icahn Charter School has a staff developer and three curriculum specialists on
staff who, in addition to their other work, serve as coaches. For example, one coach
might team-teach a class with a staff teacher while another works with an individual student
who is struggling with an assignment. Teachers are required to submit lesson plans
each Monday to the staff developer. This year, with five teachers new to the school,
the coaches demonstrate successful lessons, provide feedback, and share approaches for
addressing students’ needs. All professional development efforts are carefully documented.
(See fig. 10 on p. 29 for a teacher log that a writing coach from the New York City
Writing Project, a community partnership to coach teachers on writing, uses as a tool to
keep track of ongoing professional development work with teachers.)

These schools tend to offer teachers considerably more professional development and support
than traditional public schools. Coaches and master teachers—high-quality, experienced
teachers—help newer educators refine lessons, team-teach, and model instructional strategies.
All seven charter schools support teachers by providing additional staffing, such as Title I
mathematics and reading intervention specialists, who work with small groups of students
having difficulty with academic skills.

The kind of support described above is one way these schools retain great teachers. Bonuses
are another. Several of the schools—CCA, Icahn Charter School, and PAES—pay bonuses or merit
pay for meeting student achievement goals, teacher attendance, and investing additional
time in after-school tutoring, Saturday classes, and summer school. Administrators also select
their staff carefully. Lennie Jones, principal of Alain Locke, explains that besides looking at an
applicant’s education background and credentials, he looks for new hires who are willing
to put in the time and effort required to meet the school’s goals. The school "may not be for
everyone," Jones says. "We look for intelligent people with a heart for children who are looking
to grow professionally." Once hired, teachers are observed, evaluated, and held to high
standards. Unlike traditional public schools, charter school principals have the autonomy to
fire or decide not to renew contracts if a teacher is not committed to the mission or meeting the
standards for instruction. At CCA, principal Hernandez says he over-hires by four or five teachers
each school year and keeps only the best, letting go by December "those that don’t make
it or buy in." At APV, when a new principal and governing board took over leadership, they developed
a new dual-language program for all students and decided to fire all noncertified
teachers. This step meant that half the school’s teaching staff was fired and replaced. (See
fig. 11 for APV’s teacher report card, an excerpt of a tool that is used to evaluate
teachers. The principal and administrators use this tool to evaluate teacher performance in a
way that promotes ongoing learning for staff to meet expectations for high-quality teaching.)

All of these schools aim to create an environment for teachers that is supportive and
conducive to teaching. Teachers are not left alone to deal with challenging students. At APV,
for example, a designated problem-solving team composed of teachers works, as needed, with
individual teachers to strategize on how to address students’ behavioral and academic issues.
At Cesar Chavez, innovative hiring has helped create a community of experts to support classroom
teachers: School staff includes an instructional coach for elementary and middle school,
a lead tutor, a director of assessment, a school
psychologist, a speech therapist, a cross-grade special education team, and a prevention specialist
to coordinate family support services.

2. Contribution to school discipline and school culture
a. Observed and documented implementation of behavior plan in a consistent manner or other measures that contribute to positive behavior.
b. Classroom observation. c. Uniform policy implemented
d. Positive relations with students e. Motivates students to learn
f. Posting grades on student folders/progress reports
g. Hosting field lesson meetings with parents
h. Organizing field lessons with team
i. Attendance of students on team
j. Quarterly reflection *

5. Professionalism a. Attendance b. Dress
c. Working with other faculty
d. Compliance: Turning in required paperwork/computer work on time. Examples include grades, attendance, special education paperwork and other information requested.

Several of these schools have principals who serve as instructional leaders. "It’s my job to
help the teacher figure out how to make each child succeed," says principal Whitehouse of
TIS. "When a teacher is having difficulty figuring out what to do for a child, we will sit
down and brainstorm together." She observes teachers daily, spending time in classrooms and
providing feedback to teachers. One teacher on staff had worked for 39 years in Catholic
schools before moving to TIS. "My other school was seven-tenths of a mile from my house. I
could walk to school," says the teacher. "Now I travel 55 miles a day round-trip to get here.
But I just love this program, even though it is probably the most difficult teaching I’ve done
in all those years." Another teacher, new to the profession, says Whitehouse helped her get off
to a good start in her classroom: "[During] my first year of teaching she was there every single
step of the way. She held my hand through the entire process."

Conclusion

The populations of students attending the schools profiled in this guide are distinctive
in their levels of need. These students reside in urban communities, and many have limited
English fluency. Many come from poor families, and many are African-American or Hispanic.
Their neighborhood schools are unsafe and suffer a chronic lack of resources. Frustrated
and unhappy that their children’s academic and developmental needs were not being met, families
in these communities have joined educators and philanthropists to create innovative schools
dedicated to ensuring student success.

Some readers of this guide, particularly teachers or administrators working in charter or traditional
public schools, may wonder whether any of these strategies have "cross-over" potential
for other schools. The descriptive research process on which this guide is based suggests ways
to do things that leaders and staff at the featured schools have found to be helpful and practical
how-to guidance. But it is not the kind of experimental research that can yield valid causal
claims about what works. Thus, readers should judge for themselves the merits of these practices
based on their understanding of why such practices should work, how they fit the local
context, and what happens when they actually try them. Also, readers should understand that
these descriptions do not constitute an endorsement of specific practices or products.

That said, the successes of these schools provide an impetus to look closely at how they go
about the business of educating all children and closing achievement gaps.

These schools share a sense of urgency: To a one, they are on a mission to improve the future
for students who have not had many opportunities, and they are of the mind-set that
there is no time to waste. Each is staying true to an original, formal mission to help their students
achieve and, uniformly, these schools provide the necessary support to help each student
meet high standards. They do this work in a positive school culture that emphasizes
student achievements and makes expectations clear. Schools profiled in this guide partner with
their students’ families in multiple ways, from requiring parental
signatures on homework to offering adult education classes. School leaders
are innovative about their approaches across the board, taking care to notice what their students
and staff need—from longer school days to year-round school schedules. Leaders hold
themselves accountable and also are held accountable by governing boards that can fire
principals and teachers who are not following through with the school’s mission. These schools
provide ongoing professional development and other support for teachers, which help to retain
high-quality staff in communities that often struggle to hold on to top-notch teachers.

While achievement levels for students in these schools do indeed outpace those of students
in neighboring public schools, there are also more-nuanced indicators of success at these
charters, each of which may have implications for other public schools:

These schools offer lessons about individualizing curriculum. The schools in
this guide use approaches that specifically meet the needs of their student populations.
They group students in innovative ways, sometimes offering unusual grade ranges,
and even clustering students developmentally rather than by age. (TIS students learn in
multiage classrooms rather than being separated out by grade-level groupings.) Traditional
schools can learn new strategies for tailor-making their programs to teach student
by student.

High teacher accountability raises student achievement. The seven schools profiled
here have moderate to low percentages of students in special education programs,
ranging from less than 5 percent to 12 percent. One reason for this may be that teachers
work together to support students with special needs.16 Teachers are trained to think, "It
is my responsibility to make sure this child learns."17 These schools proactively provide
all students with individualized instructional support, using special education designation
as a last resort. Additionally, both schools that are serving high numbers of English
language learners use a highly collaborative dual-language approach, enabling teachers
to hone in on academic problems and identify whether they are language- or learning-related.
18 School reform advocates will want to consider ways to nurture this shift in thinking,
from asking teachers to impart material to holding them responsible for student success,
particularly when students enter school performing below grade-level.

Teachers are supported to meet high standards. These schools each have master
teachers on staff to model lessons for newer instructors. Teachers are encouraged to collaborate
or team-teach, and, at some schools, they receive bonus pay when achievement
goals are met. Their shared sense of pride and the knowledge that they are having a
real impact serves as additional reward. If underserved urban districts want to attract
and retain high-caliber teachers, they should consider offering high levels of professional
development in addition to other rewards for a job well done.

These charter schools are places where theory and practice meet. Free from district
and state mandates about instructional minutes and textbook choices, several of
these schools are explicit in their use of research-based teaching and assessment practices.
Although sometimes faced with skepticism from colleagues in the field, leaders
at a few of these schools have implemented curricula that had never been used to teach
low-income students in urban schools. Other schools in the profiled group also have
raised the bar high but use more traditional teaching methods. Their successes in raising
student achievement levels demonstrate that historically underserved students can
and do master high-level material, whether a school uses traditional (e.g., direct instruction)
or more innovative (e.g., project-based learning) pedagogy.

These schools share common constraints. These schools are united by a common determination
to meet their students’ needs by doing whatever it takes. But they also share
similar challenges. Responsible for financing their own school transportation and buildings,
these schools face major financial struggles with each new school year. School reform
advocates committed to expanding public school options will want to consider ways to
support schools like these, which offer an important alternative for students and their families.
Standards are high for teachers as well, and working at a fledgling charter school
would not work for every teacher. Hours are long, but there are also rewards. Many school
directors give staff bonuses for working extra hours and bringing student achievement levels
up. Teachers are encouraged to collaborate across departments with master teachers
working closely with these new educators. Further, in those schools there is a shared
sense of pride among students and teachers when they accomplish benchmark goals because
students know they have worked hard to earn their marks, and teachers can see the
impact of their efforts.

These schools make learning a priority.
Readers of this guide may conclude that it would be impossible for a traditional public
school to develop a cohesive staff willing to work the long hours each day as well as
work extra days to ensure student achievement. It is easier, without question, for charter
schools to achieve this task. However, having a highly qualified and unified teaching staff
is certainly possible at non-charter schools. Those committed to education equity must
consider what is needed to ensure that all schools, especially those at the losing end of
the achievement gap, have such dedicated teachers. School reform advocates must take
note of policies and practices that either inhibit or support developing staffs like these
and must make decisions accordingly.

One of the more insidious myths about education
is that students who have traditionally been characterized as at risk cannot manage a rigorous
curriculum and that, if pushed too hard, they will drop out of school. The achievement outcomes
of these seven profiled schools refute that belief, demonstrating that when presented with a demanding
academic curriculum, high expectations, and the support to excel, students rise to meet,
and often exceed, the bar. With solid support and research-based teaching and assessment approaches,
these traditionally underserved learners can meet the challenge. It may even be possible,
based on the outcomes of these seven charters, that all public schools—in affluent or low-income
communities alike—can learn from the individualized, innovative, and committed work that can
happen when theory meets practice.